Immigration Judge Grants Release Of Undocumented Father

click to expand

ADELANTO (CBSLA.com) – An immigration judge has approved the release of an undocumented immigrant and father of four who was arrested earlier this year in Lincoln Heights while dropping his daughters off at school. At around 6 p.m. Rómulo Avelica-González was released into the arms of his daughters.

At a hearing Wednesday at the Adelanto Immigration and Customs Enforcement Processing Center, a judge granted bond for 48-year-old Rómulo Avelica-González. He could be released from ICE custody as early as Wednesday evening. However, this does not mark the end of his case, which still needs to be reviewed by an immigration judge to consider if he should be permitted to remain permanently in the U.S. There's no word on how long that process may take.

On Aug. 11, the Board of Immigration Appeals tossed out the deportation order for González, who was arrested Feb. 28 by ICE agents. He had remained in ICE custody, however, pending Wednesday's hearing.

Gonzalez is originally from Nayarit, Mexico, and has been living in the United States since the 1990s. His four children are U.S. citizens.

He was pulled over by ICE agents with his wife and teen daughter Fatima in the car. Fatima, 14, captured the arrest on cell phone video, which went viral.

Gonzalez' February arrest was due to decades-old misdemeanor convictions for driving under the influence and receiving stolen car tags, according to the Los Angeles Times. In June, his lawyers were able to exchange those for lesser violations.

That is what prompted the board dismiss his deportation order.